Policy of Truth
by VicarAmelia
Summary: Kaiba meets the 3rd ranked duelist in the world and everything is not what it seems when another person comes to KaibaCorp with knowledge he never knew he needed. A new challenge to keep him going. Both their worlds become closer as they realize they can't escape their pasts but can change the future. Follows anime story-line with character development from manga. After DSOD. KXOC
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I've been working on this for a few weeks so hopefully you all like it!

* * *

A groan echoed through the small studio apartment as an alarm clock wailed away. A form slowly dragged itself to the nightstand and slammed its fist down on the button. A girl rose up from the blankets, eyeing the puddle of drool by her feet and her giant English Mastiff who stared at her with sorry black eyes. Light flooded the small space, reflecting off the pale walls and light wood flooring. There was a bed covered in white sheets, a dog bed that served more of a purpose as a chew toy next to it by the nightstand, and the kitchen. An old cello laid against the wall, dusty and needing to be tuned.

"C'mon, Mason..." She grumbled as she turned on the television, rubbing her eyes and letting her feet hit the cold hardwood floor.

"Good Morning, Domino City, this is Obta Takumi and Nakamura Mei-"

She barely paid any attention to the man as she went into the small kitchen on the other side of the room thinking only one thought. The only appliance on the counter, almost looked like an old friend as it's cheap silver colored plastic shined in the light. It wasn't at all traditional for Japan but having a Russian mother had benefited her. She had drank the same thing every morning while her father had tea.

"It will be a partly sunny morning, sunshine in the afternoon," the television continued in the background.

 _Need coffee. Now._

Mason walked lazily to her side with his bowl in his mouth, drool running down the sides as he let it fall to the floor with a thud as she began her morning routine. He had already began to whine when she grabbed a bag from under the sink, half surprised that he hadn't figured out how to open the cabinets yet. She poured the kibble in the bowl with her eyes half open. Some of it falling onto the floor instead.

The dog ate messily as she drank her coffee, feeling an instant pick up and went to get her new school uniform out of the closet. She grimaced at the bright pink blazer.

 _You've gotta be kidding me. Why did they make me waste my money on this thing?_

The big blue bow got the same treatment but she still put it on, straightening her blue pleated skirt. The duel disk went into her black messenger bag as well as some supplies. She was about to turn off the television, her fingertip over the button.

"In recent news, Riko Kurosaki was found dead, adding to the recent string of serial killings-," she sat on the edge of her bed listening carefully as she laid back down," in her apartment in northern Domino. Mrs. Kurosaki was one of the leading designers at KaibaCorp for the Duel Disk System. The police have began calling this the Domino City Computer Murders. The other victims have been identified as Fekla and Ichiro Takahashi, their daughter Akiko, Kiyoshi Onizuka, and Soichiro Ichinose-" She clenched the sheets and sighed, raising her head up as if she was drowning. Her reflection looked back at her with bright green eyes as she walked into the bathroom.

"I look so pathetic," she mumbled as Mason went up to her and started licking her hand. Large deep seated purple bags hung underneath her eyes and once milky white skin was replaced with skin that looked sickly, blue-green vines showed through like children making shadow puppets in a fort of thin blankets. When she pulled away from the mirror, bright smiling faces looked back at her on tubes of makeup and skin creams. It felt insulting

"Everything will be better soon, Mase." There was a slight optimism in her voice that soon diminished when her reflection stared back at her again.

* * *

She sat on the steps as teens piled in, staring at some of the other girls, she realized how lucky she was to find an actual knee length skirt. She wasn't even sure if this was what she would've worn. Boys whispered as they walked by and she couldn't help but roll her eyes **.**

"Isn't that-"

"Yeah, Karin Watanabe, she's-"

" **The 3rd ranked duelist in the world."**

"No- that's that Wheeler kid!"

She pinched the bridge of her nose and slammed her book shut, there was no way she could think straight with these boys breathing down her neck. Eventually she found her classroom and took a seat in the back. A couple people stared at her but she ignored it, brushing her black hair back.

"That's Kaiba's seat," a girl muttered. She threw her a look and the girl shut up quickly. All of the other students piled into the classroom, the teacher following behind them. Her eyes continued to scan the pages of her book until a shadow cast down.

Someone's hand was outstretched in front of her and she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him. She recognized him, his bright blue eyes and his chestnut brown hair, he was taller than the television made it seem though. It was hard to read his expressions, his eyebrows almost completely hidden by his bangs.

"I'm Seto Kaiba, I look forward to dueling you soon," he said with a bit of an attitude, it was a fairly good start to an introduction but it quickly went sour.

"And why do you think I want to duel you? I'm here to study," she stated, rising out of her chair and crossing her arms across her chest, there was a slight pause before he began again.

"I'm the 2nd best duelist if not the best in the world. Eventually you'll want one of those titles and you'll have to verse me then." He smirked and she really wanted to slap it off, that or sick Mason on him. "I've read up on you." He had the wrong person.

"I'm flattered. I'm really not that interested in taking your rank though." She said as he took the seat behind her. He eyed her down, just scanning her.

"I don't believe that. Especially from the last time we met and how a few months ago you were going after everyone's titles." She snapped her head around, looking straight at him. He looked down at her book.

Could he tell?

"You didn't come across as a reader. _The Picture of Dorian Gray?_ " She wanted to breathe a sigh of relief.

"I don't remember that, meeting you. You should mind your own business and I'll do the same." Kaiba cocked his head to the side as he pulled a book out of his briefcase.

"I don't follow orders well. I give them."

"Well, that's a shame." She said, turning back around as the teacher began the lesson, jotting down notes. Her hand tugging on her hair. "Maybe we can play a different game."

* * *

The day droned on but school finally let out and she quickly went home to her apartment She changed into a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, she laced her boots up halfway. Mason looked at her with pleading eyes as she put on her hoodie, his leash in his mouth.

"Trying to say something?" She said with a laugh as he nudged his broad head into her thigh, making loud whines. She clipped it to his collar and walked outside, her messenger bag over her shoulder. The dog followed her as they walked through the city, the dusk looming in the background of Domino. It wasn't a route she had taken in years but her feet moved on their own. She walked by stores that had replaced the ones of her youth, the only thing that was left was a small game store.

They entered a large house on the outskirts of town and she pulled out her phone.

"Nice hearing from you! I already got that house cleared out. A week ago, I think," a man stated with a thick Russian accent. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you thinking you'll find?"

"Anything, Uncle Alex." It had been over ten years. It was more than a bit late, he hadn't exactly been helping her. He must've had plenty of free time to get it done. At least in her eyes. She halfway wondered why she bothered talking to him, it didn't do any good.

"Your specifics are astounding," he said sarcastically. "Oh, I got to go, meeting in ten." He hung up as she began scanning the house. The dog whimpered as she closed the door.

"I know it's hard to be home again. You're so old now." She pulled out a camera and a notepad. There must have been something they had missed.

They had been gone for so long.

* * *

She walked back into the small apartment, Mason in tow. Her nights had been growing longer, she was beginning to wonder when she'd be able to get a full night's rest again. The dog walked lazily to the bed and hopped onto the end, where he took up most of the space. He laid there with his big sad eyes beckoning his owner as she walked into the bathroom, lazily grabbing something off her head and throwing it across the tile. She washed everything away, scrubbing her face so hard it stung, she pulled her hair out of their braids and quickly ran her hands through them before wrapping a robe around herself.

She smiled and crawled into bed, knowing her mind would be blank for a few hours. Mason put his head on her icy feet as he snored, keeping her warm through the night.


	2. Chapter 2

She stared blankly out the window as the teacher spoke. Kaiba changed his seat and now took the one next to the window. He didn't care for the lesson either as he shuffled his deck and looked through his cards. She stared as she saw the silver foil on his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He gave her a glance back; his eyes were such a pure shade of blue. It was like staring at a lake when the sun hits it. She felt like if she stared long enough she'd drown.

Kaiba stared back at her with a puzzled expression, noticing her new book. _Jane Eyre_. He should have figured, she had a real love for the classics. It had ranged from novels to poetry.

He watched as she pulled her long black hair into a ponytail, the ends brushing his desk. Their eyes met as she turned to her bag. They just didn't look right. They were cold and dark. He felt alone just staring at them. The black hair that framed her face did nothing to warm her appearance, she had pale skin that had a sickly glow to it. She looked like she had caked on more powder and makeup than he could find in a department store. She was incredibly thin and willowy, and looked worn down if anything. She was pretty but there was something off about her appearance. There was something off about her in general.

Many girls swooned over him like persistent nats. She treated him with indifference; she seemed to treat everyone that way. She never spoke unless she was called on or someone spoke to her first. It seemed odd though the school year was almost over, it was their last year; why change high schools so late?

She turned away quickly and looked back down at her notes. He realized that they must have been staring for a few minutes at least. Once class ended, she quietly left the classroom and began walking towards the library.

Kaiba followed quietly, his shoes barely made a noise in the busy hallway. He had no issues getting through the groups of students. He watched as Karin swerved around them halfway knocking them over. She seemed so flustered being around so many people, he noted something peculiar. One strand of bright red hair peeked out from the black. Maybe it was just a bad dye job? She quickly snatched it up as she passed her reflection in a window, hiding it amongst the black strands.

He watched her unplug some wire from the desktops and hid at the far end of the library. She sat on the ground with one of the school's laptops in her lap, the wire plugged into it. It was the ethernet cable.

"The hobbies section? Please don't tell me you bird watch." She glanced up at him briefly and then continued to type.

"Do you have a problem with birds? You seem to love dragons."

"I'm too busy."

"My dad always would take me into the forest to find Fairy Pittas. His favorite bird but he never could find it." He rolled his eyes. She laughed, watching him.

"For someone "too busy" you don't seem very busy." She typed, scrolling through text. "But I am so could we do this some other time?"

"Why do you need that cable? Couldn't find the wifi password? It should actually already be on the laptop." He asked, sarcastically as he sat down next to her. She tilted her body so that the screen was out of his view.

"I don't think you understand what too busy means. Don't you have some small business to bully?"

"No, not at the moment but I am curious to why you're using the school as your hacking playground." She raised an eyebrow and put the computer down.

"If I duel you will you please leave me alone?" He snickered and snatched the computer, scanning the screen. He looked like he just earned a trophy. "Give me that back! I don't want your help." She snapped trying to grab it back.

"Really? You could really use some help. I know children who could do better." He stared at the servers and didn't recognize the company name on the screen. "What's Wendigo?"

"A cannibalistic creature." She quipped back. "From Native American folklore."

"I meant the company-"

"Please give it back," She said impatiently, cutting him off. He looked back at her and put the computer back in her lap. He stared at her for a brief moment, she looked down at the keyboard. She wasn't paying attention to anything around her.

"Whatever. I have better things to do than help some-" He began walking away from her when suddenly she got up and ran up to him.

"You should be careful, Kaiba. Make sure no one else ends up like Kurosaki." She told him, her eyes wide. He watched her as she shook, her fists at her hips, eyebrows furrowed and sweat dripping from her face. "If you can."

Kaiba walked around her and left before anything else could happen, not wanting to cause a scene.

* * *

She quietly walked into her small apartment, Mason stared from his spot on the bed. His eye trailing on her as she walked into the bathroom. She placed her thumbs under the top of her hairline. She felt tugging at her scalp as the black hair fell to the floor in a pile at her feet. The clicking of bobby pins against the sink rung through the bathroom. It felt like a weight fell off of her shoulders as she jumped into the shower. She scrubbed her face rigorously, makeup and black mascara staining her hands. Everything started hitting her in waves as she crouched down under the water; her face in her hands as she weeped quietly. No tears fell only silent sobs. It was just so much in such a short time.

She wouldn't have felt right if she hadn't warned him, it was in her power now. It could have ruined everything, if he poked his nose in too deep. It still could.

There was something swelling in her chest, making her feel warm. Maybe she had done the right thing. She wanted to protect other people. It seemed natural after losing all of the most important people in her life. She had been alone for so long, unable to put her trust in anybody.

She wasn't sure if she just didn't trust Kaiba or if there was more she didn't know.

* * *

Kaiba looked over at his brother who was on the other side of the leather couch, blissfully asleep with his messy black hair covering his face. He hadn't even changed out of his clothes. Hopefully he would be done figuring everything out soon so he could wake Mokuba up and go home. Sleep in his own bed for a change.

He had spent some time looking over the companies that KaibaCorp worked with while his brother slept. He watched the rise and fall of the boy's chest.

Wendigo, Wendigo, Wendigo…..It swirled around his head like a thunderstorm.

There was no mention of this company anywhere on his records. Was this girl so stupid to think he couldn't protect himself? How could anything slip past him? He wondered what was so off to him about Karin. He chalked it up to paranoia since he couldn't find a company by that name. He had met her once at a Duel Monsters Tournament, she was so bubbly and cheery, he wasn't sure she was even capable of thought. This girl wasn't though, she was silence and witty remarks when necessary, a new book every time he saw her. People didn't change like that, it was day and night.

But she had. He saw their servers, their files, and even some names of employees. Could she have faked all of that? It seemed unlikely.

She could've explained something. There was a clue.

She had mentioned Riko Kurosaki who had worked in his Virtual Reality Department and was one of the main developers on the Duel Disk System. There were other people who had also died of late and maybe they would have the answers. Then others who had died years prior who had barely been connected. He watched the news online and listened to the names and the circumstances. He went through their obituaries There was a couple amongst the names which stuck out to him. Felka and Ichiro Sato were an older couple who had worked for Industrial Illusions years ago before starting their own company. They had been found in their beds. He looked at their obituaries and stared at the picture of a small girl.

She couldn't have been much older than four with long black hair and dark eyes with her parents, her mother held her. Their skin contrasted. Her small tanned frame against her mother's pale skin. Vibrant red hair and green eyes were prominent features for Felka while her father stood in the background with shaggy black hair and dark eyes.

His stomach sunk as he realized she had probably died as well. Her body was never found.

He shut his computer. Maybe it was because of the resemblance to Mokuba but he couldn't read anymore. He looked over at his brother as he wrapped him in a blanket. He tried to sleep on the opposite couch.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaiba watched quietly as his meeting continued. Ideas of expansion were discussed, new deals to be made. He had heard all of this before so the excitement had worn off. Even the new deals were uninteresting to him, there were always new deals. Different names, same endings. Everything just seemed to slow down around him on days like this. He knew he'd be much happier once all of this was over. The board watched quietly with him, there had been some recent changes to it of late. A couple new members with varying viewpoints had joined by buying out many of the other shareholders stocks. Compared to the last members anything was an improvement though. They sat on one side of the table while the executives and him sat on the opposite side. Someone had bought out a third of his stocks who never showed up.

He had learned to give them a bit more power from his experiences with Noah and Gozaburo. Today though he would not be allowing any companies to make deals with him. He wasn't sure if Wendigo was a real company or not; he wasn't even sure that was it's real name.

Karin appeared in his mind. Would anyone go through this much trouble to trick him? To his knowledge there was no reason for her to have a vendetta against him. She seemed odd to him though not just for the warnings about Wendigo. He made a mental note to check her background. The more he thought about her one thing stared back at him; her dark eyes.

He mentally cursed himself. Why was he even thinking about her? She hadn't been to school in two days.

It clicked as he thought about her dark eyes. .

* * *

She looked at herself in the mirror. She had pulled her hair into a beanie, her chest had been bound underneath a long sleeved t-shirt and vest. She was getting so used to not looking like herself, it almost scared her, a day didn't go by where she could look like herself. As she walked out she grabbed a messenger bag, bulky phone, and camera. Tonight was the night she was going to figure out Wendigo's plans. No one else would have to deal with this anymore.

* * *

The fence was easy enough to scale, the guards stationed around the building were like little toy soldiers and easy enough to slip past. She had been watching them for weeks by hacking their security cameras, making sure she knew their every move, every shift switch, even when they took their breaks. There could be no accident this time on her part. There was no noise left behind in her wake as she found the loading bay and slipped under the large metal door; she hid through the shelves of boxes until she found an open ventilation vent that had been broken for months. She crawled into it and maneuvered through the tunnels until she heard voices.

"We've been hacked again." Once their faces were in her view she took out the phone and turned it to record, leaving it in the space. She didn't recognize any of them, the shadows casted by the overhead lighting blurrying their faces. A small headset relayed their conversation back to her as she crawled towards the CEO's office.

"Has there been any lead on who? Someone has infiltrated one of our buildings before." She heard one of the other men snicker.

"No, they cover their tracks well," she waited patiently for the men to walk out before dropping down from the vent, she found the computer and pulled in a USB that began to bypass their security. Quickly typing in the necessary information as rows and rows of code appeared as she listened for footsteps.

"They're no threat to us. All they've done has been nipping at our heels for months. But very soon it will be out of our way-"

"We have more pressing matters at hand today. The hacker can wait." They all nodded in agreement. A redheaded man stood up.

"Ever since Gozaburo died, KaibaCorp has left our fingertips. We have let it pass because we had no use for children's games but Seto Kaiba has created new technology. Finally our men have infiltrated his board. Now we need our next move."

She watched the computer finally load, everything was being sent to the USB. It was a small victory and she was nowhere near done yet. She was about to grab the USB when she heard the door unlock, holding in her fright she crouched under the desk. This couldn't be happening again.

"The bodies," the voices in the headset spoke, " we should've found a better way."

"Are you still feeling bad about the kid?"

"No, the one that got away."

"After this we'll be extradited to any country we want so stop your worrying. I'm sure the kid's living in slums somewhere or dead by now. Not much of a future if you ask me."

Every single muscle in her body was tense as she waited for the man to leave. Her heart thumped so hard her vision blurred. She let the adrenaline take its course focusing it on planning her escape. Her eyes jumped through every possible exit she had. The windows, the door, the vent…

They sat down at the desk.

"What the-" the man began looking at the USB drive. "Did one of you leave this here?"

She felt a sharp pain in her ribs as she kicked the chair onto the guard and jumped on top of it. He collapsed after a swift blow to his throat. After pushing his body under the desk she jumped back into the vent with the USB drive as she went up she felt the headset fall out of her ear. It was too risky to climb back down for it. She needed to leave. The phone was the last thing she needed to help piece everything together. There was finally a name she could use to track them down.

Gozaburo Kaiba. How many other things had they said during other encounters? Had they laughed at what they had taken from her? She grabbed the phone and climbed back down to the loading bay.

Every nerve in her body ran wild as she began running to the fence. Everything she had done to reach this point hit her. Nothing was holding her back now. She scaled over the fence in a matter of seconds. Her chest heaved.

"We knew you'd come." Someone said from behind her.

She felt a sharp pain at her side as a knife dug into her abdomen. Everything fell to the ground, her hands dropped the phone and USB. Tears began to flood her eyes from the pain and the realization that this might be the end. A needle dug its way into her neck. Her pupils blew up as she looked at the sky in shock, her mouth agape. She wasn't sure what was happening, only that she needed to do something.

"Who are you?" She fell to the ground.

"Does it matter?" She replied, elongating the vowels.

"You should know how the world will remember you. You've worked hard enough to know that-"

"I'm not dying here." She said as she gasped, clutching the phone firmly in her hand, she got up, and turned to face him. If she was going to die she was going to know her assailants face. Her vision blurred as she pulled her hand away from the wound, she could feel the blood spilling down onto the right side of her hip and leg. Everything seemed so slow, her eyes couldn't focus on the man in front of her. One thought went through her mind.

The phone. It held everything. Maybe she could show it to him, apologize for the confrontation in the library. Everything was becoming spotted.

She looked at her phone for a moment, digging her finger into the side before chucking the phone at his head and tackling him while he was taken by surprise, snatching the knife out of his hand. The cold blade was against the warmth of his neck. It didn't feel right.

"I will not die here," she repeated to him as she pushed the knife even harder against his throat. She couldn't keep her footing, wobbling behind him. Droplets of blood spilled onto the stark white of his shirt. "Not like her."

Just as she was about to end it, something grazed the side of her face. She snapped her head back to see a group of armed men running at her. They fired off their guns at her. A small wound began slicing through her cheek. Her face felt slick as blood oozed out.

There was no more fight left in her as she ran off into the night. The phone and USB laid on the floor behind her. Tonight hadn't been a failure.

She didn't know where she was going as she went, hiding behind a large building that illuminated the sky. She leaned against it, slipping to the ground, her hand against her stomach.

She slipped in and out of consciousness for hours, her shirt getting even more stained. Dots bubbled around her in bright colors, she couldn't focus on anything. The night sky looked like a can of soda, she couldn't tell what dots were stars and what were in her head. Her legs refused to lift her up when she tried to move, falling back down to the ground instead.

Bright lights burned her eyes as someone walked up.


	4. Chapter 4

Kaiba watched the city go past him as he drove. The night was becoming longer than he anticipated. He finally got Mokuba off the couch and into his bed and now he had to go back to KaibaCorp. There had been emergency with the Duel Disk Network and he trusted no one to fix it but him. It had begun raining heavily, water pelleted against his windshield in waves. He felt a chill that sunk into his bones as he got out of his car.

Something was off to him as he turned towards the building. He heard coughing by the side, wondering who could be stupid enough to be out on a night like this.

He found a small boy, dressed in black, his skin was a sickly mess of blue and purple. His body was curled up into a ball, his breathing barely noticeable.

"This is private property, you need to leave," Kaiba nudged him and tried again, "you need to leave." This boy was no older than sixteen by the looks of it, he wondered if he could find a school ID or a cellphone. He tried getting into his front pockets, thinking about how his guards were going to have hell to pay once this was over. When he pulled his hand out, feeling it being sticky, he gasped at the realization. The smell of blood engulfed him as he grabbed the boy and carried him into KaibaCorp, the boy's feet dragging as Kaiba walked. He placed the boy on a chair in the lobby and began checking vitals.

"Sir, what are you doing?" A receptionist asked, hovering over him.

"Call a hospital and get the doctor over here now!" He snapped back, looking her dead in the face when he felt a cold hand touch his.

"No-no hospital. Just stitch," the boy said as Kaiba turned, seeing the boy staring at him with his forest green eyes looking scared and worn. It reminded him of a wounded animal.

"Don't be stupid, you're going to die. You've lost too much blood," he told him as the boy's eyes closed again. He sighed as he pulled off the red haired boy's vest. Kaiba didn't know if the doctor would have the necessary equipment to deal with this kind of injury. The receptionist brought over a first aid kit, he dug through the box and pulled out a pair of scissors. He sliced through the shirt and revealed the wound, pouring hydrogen peroxide on it and applying pressure with a cloth. The boy muttered incoherently, gasping after each word. He must have been hallucinating, Kaiba thought.

"USB….phone….Kaiba...Corp….." Kaiba applied more pressure to the wound, the boy hissed in pain but continued muttering. He continued listening intently.

"Kaiba….Sasaki….Sato….Ichinose…."

"Mister Kaiba!" The doctor yelled as he ran down the hallway with a stretcher. Kaiba grabbed the boy and placed him on a it, turning it the other way around. As they ran to the other side of the building, the doctor examined the best he could.

"He's been injected with something," he said noticing swelling on the boy's neck. "He's lost a lot of blood but not enough to be rendered unconscious."

"So he'll live?" Kaiba asked as the doctor inspected the knife wound.

"Yes but I still need to watch him. I don't know what the effects the drug might have. He'll need a blood transfusion as well." The doctor turned as the patient continued to gasp. "He'll also need an oxygen mask until his breathing returns to normal." He began to put monitors on the boy when he felt bandages on his chest, he pulled off his shirt, looking for a sign of injury.

"This is a girl." The doctor said, pulling the curtain around the bed. Kaiba could hear the sound the bandages being torn off and blankets being moved. The man made noises as he looked over her.

"Tsk, tsk.."

"Once she's unconscious again call an ambulance. We don't need this tonight." He said disinterested, he had done his part. The curtain opened, she placed her hand in front of his face

"Gozaburo," she said, green eyes staring at him. She was looking right at him, intentionally, and not incoherently babbling. "Wendigo." She muttered before falling back into unconsciousness, a deep blush on her cheeks.

"No, on second thought," he turned to the doctor who stared confused. "Leave her here I'm talking to her when she wakes up. This stays off the books." Kaiba sat on the other side of the room with his computer, he wanted to be in his office but couldn't risk it something went wrong. The doctor tried to argue but was cut off by his cold stare.

When he opened up the Virtual Reality Department they had advised him to make a hospital room and he had never seen the point of it until now.

He watched the doctor place a needle in her arm, explaining briefly how the barbiturate would help control convulsions and keep her calm.

The girl slept on the hospital bed, the bandages down her arms were clearly visible from the blood tests, and an IV dug into her forearm. Her heart had calmed, beeping every so often on the monitor. She was finally breathing on her own properly, he didn't even know how when she looked like death warmed over. Purple and blue veins swarmed her pale skin like overgrown vines on an old house and almost pitch black circles engulfed her eyes. Her face was framed by choppy bangs that looked like hay under the florescent lighting, the rest pulled behind her head in a bun. She was covered in a thin layer of dirt from sitting outside. He went through the list of missing persons as he waited for her to wake up. She needed to go back to where ever she had came from, he didn't have time for this. He just wanted answers.

He had begun nodding off, his cheek resting against his hand. It didn't last long as he heard a crash and panicked breathing. Jumping out of his seat as he saw her trying to pull the IV out of her arm, the blood bag and cart on the floor. She jumped back against the plastic boards on the bed, her eyes blown out as she tried to catch her breath with her hands at her sides, gripping the plastic headboard. She winced as the needle was tugged, Kaiba pulled the cart off the floor. He watched her from the corner of his eye as she tried to get up and then he grabbed her arm, trying to coax her back down.

"You need to lie back down you were drugged." He snapped as he pushed her back down onto the bed. Despite her small size she had much more strength than he thought she would. It was aggravating how much she wiggled and constantly moved underneath him.

So much for the needle keeping her calm.

"Are you done?" He asked as she relaxed enough to stop struggling, her legs bent at the knees on the bed, her feet digging into the white sheets. She stayed in his arms for a minute, almost resting her head against his shoulder. "Do you remember what happened?" She looked up at him with black eyes, a rim of green irises. In less than minute he found himself doubled over in pain as she kicked him in the stomach forcing him off of her and into the wall. By the time Kaiba realized what she had done she was already out the door and running through the halls.

"Mr. Kaiba!" He heard the doctor scream as he helped him get his footing. "We need to call the police. The drug is still in her system and we don't know how dangerous she is!"

Kaiba remembered the words she had mumbled a few hours before. He needed to figure out what Wendigo was. She had stitches down her side and he knew she wouldn't be able to run long. The constant movement was pulling at them and soon something was going to break.

"No, she'll have to stop soon just make sure no one exits."

"But Mr. Kaiba-"

"Are you questioning me?" He asked, an eyebrow raised and a much darker voice being used. The doctor just shook his head and backed away. He sent guards after her, watching them on the security cameras.

He wasn't going to jeopardize this by letting someone else be in charge. This was his building. He remained quiet as he stared at the numerous screens until he saw a head of red hair in the game room, sitting in front of a game board with her knees to her chest. A guard took his place as he walked to the doctor and went to where she was.

They looked through the window in the door, she was playing Mahjong by herself. He opened the door, slightly. There was no way out of this room so he knew as long as they stood outside she couldn't go anywhere. She didn't flinch as he walked into the room. He was pissed he had spent all night dealing with this madness but decided not to show it.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked, trying to stay calm.

"Seto Kaiba."

"Who are you?"

"Autumn," she said, grabbing a matching tile and holding the duo between her hands. She looked up at the clock above the door. "It's late."

"Can you answer some questions?" She nodded, shuffling the tiles and giving him a small panel for them.

"What's this for?" He asked, loosening his tie. "Am I playing?"

"If you win, you can ask questions."


	5. Chapter 5

He blinked. "So.. you're challenging me to a game?"

She nodded, arranging the upside down pieces. Her body showed she was completely calm, even confident in her decision.

Must've been some pretty strong drugs. And he was sure they were wearing off now. She wasn't trying to run, the heavy breathing had stopped for the most part.

Her eyes were still large, almost popping out of her skull as she arranged the tile walls. She sat on the east while he sat on the west, tugging on the KaibaCorp shirt she wore. Traditionally, the game is played with four people so thirteen tiles for each player and the rest as the draw pile. She gave him thirteen upside down pieces before grabbing random pieces herself, arranging them. He didn't rearrange his, not wanting to give her any ideas.

Autumn moved them into three sections. He wondered which section had her soon to be discarded tiles. He assumed that the right side was what she was going to get rid of. She pushed a one dot tile on the table and grabbed from the pile, moving it into the line in front of her. He removed a bamboo tile and grabbed a character tile.

She had unknowingly given him a good hand, he looked down at the line noticing how many were character tiles.

He dropped his dragon tile on the table, it was nearly impossible to find a match for it and would've held him back. He raised his eyebrows as she stole it, showing her intended pong of red dragons.

"That's lucky," he said as she revealed them, moving the three tiles to the side. Her eyes had shrunk slightly.

"I'm good at this," she muttered, putting her hand on her chin. It was a common way to show anxiousness in a game. "I have the upper hand so far."

He chuckled as he grabbed another character piece and got rid of a wind piece. She blinked a bit, putting her face in her hands from a mind-splitting headache. "There's a doctor here. You're dehydrated, among other things."

"Who would've thought," she muttered, "so caring."

"I don't need a corpse in my building." He said as he waved over the doctor. The scared man ran over with a cart in tow, she could see him sweating as he put the IV back in.

"I don't bite," she whispered to the man. The doctor scurried away under Kaiba's gaze.

She sighed, looking at a new tile which she discarded the next turn. "Shit, what did I do?" There was almost a laugh from her before she began coughing. He grabbed her character tile and showed her his grouping of four.

"You ran all over KaibaCorp and were found behind the building, bleeding and going in and out of consciousness." He spoke matter-of-factly. "You were delirious."

She rubbed the back of her neck, it was swollen and throbbing.

"I owe you something for all this-"

"I'll win it," he said. "Like we agreed."

"I hope I wasn't too much trouble."

"You were," he muttered, moving his tiles with an uninterested expression. He could hear her grumble 'thanks' under her breath. They continued their battle of wits. She was good, he'd never say it aloud but he thought he would've won by now. He was changing his strategy, not being able to find anymore of the character pieces. She must've been keeping a few now or they had landed in the discard pile.

There were no dragon tiles either.

It must've been a half hour of perfect silence before she smiled at him as she flipped over her pieces. He would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying their game. Not many people could keep him on his toes.

He'd look up at her every so often, her eyes looking at her tiles through red lashes or tugging at a strand of long hair.

"Mah jong, Kaiba." She showed him her hand, smiling. It was a Great Dragon's Hand; the two pieces at the end were character tiles, then a few bamboo tiles, and then each of the three different dragons in three pongs.

"How'd you manage that?" She shrugged.

"I don't know. I was sure you were going to try and collect the dragon pieces, to be honest so I just kept trying to keep them." She pointed to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon statue outside with a brow arched.

"It would've been too predictable." She leaned back in her chair as he flipped up his pieces.

"Really?" The tone of disbelief didn't go unnoticed.

"I've won, Autumn," he smirked showing his hand. "I have more points than you."

"Mahjong is usually done with four rounds, one for each player to be the dealer so one more time, Kaiba."

He didn't say anything but instead grimaced in annoyance slightly.

They shuffled the pieces and he dealt them out, they knew what to expect from each other from the last round. Slowly over the course of an hour the discard pile grew. It looked like a small mountain between them. Hands reached for discard pieces, sweat on their foreheads. They both had their hands on their chins, he stayed more reserved than her though, watching as she blew her bangs out of her face as they tickled her nose or brushing her hair behind her ear. He was far less fidgety.

When one felt they were ahead of the other they learned very soon it was not the case. The entire game was neck and neck. His heart pounded in his chest. They counted up their scores, both feeling triumphant. She placed the SD card from her long gone phone on the table.

"Wait, I haven't finished-"

"Keep it, Kaiba, I know what's on it. You'll have better luck understanding it anyway."

"Probably." She rolled her eyes and gave him a narrow stare.

"Just listen to it." She stood up shakily. "I need to go home. I have things I need to attend to." Mason had probably ate through all the extra food she had left. She put her hand to her head, feeling it pounding. She could probably use some food too. The doctor removed the needle, this time, and swabbed the wound. The doctor tried to get her to stay but she ignored him.

"Be my guest. Just don't die in my lobby," he said, getting up and hastily walking towards the door. Pulling out his phone he texted someone and once he finished he turned back to her for a moment, watching her stumble on her own feet. She would definitely need a ride. "Try not to come back into my building covered in blood again."

"Who said I'm coming back?" Her body went rigid.

"I did." People always listened to him. Especially here.

He looked at her surprised face, eyebrows knitted in confusion as his words dawned on her. She wobbled to the door, moving slightly faster than a newborn deer. She couldn't match the strides of his long legs.

She had already given him her name during her drug-induced delirium. Now he was expecting her to come back here?

Fuck that.

"I can't," she panted behind him. "I'm sorry but I can't. There's just no way-"

"Then maybe you should just stay here." He kept taking long strides as he spoke. "You have no way to receive medical attention and there's still the issue of whatever was in your system." She grabbed his arm, moving too fast and feeling slightly dizzy from it. Her head swayed for a moment before she regained composure.

"I understand and thank you for your help but-"

He knew where this was going.

"That's out of the question." She looked at him as he loomed over her, almost a foot taller than her and like a wall in front of her. She turned toe to leave, taking a deep breath and doing her best to look in control. He put his arm in her way.

"Listen. I will get my way with this. You have information I need to protect KaibaCorp and I want it. All of it."

Just listen.

Just listen once in your goddamn life, Autumn.

"I expect to see you in the next week!" He called out with his arms crossed, his strong eyes staring into the back of her head. "There's a car outside for you."

"Oh, you'll see me, Kaiba!" She slammed the door behind her, not knowing where she was going, and subsequently slamming every other door until she left the building. .

He took a breath, checking his watch. It was almost four in the morning.

There was no point in sleeping now. He walked up to his office and found his old computer, setting it up. Looking out the window as it loaded, he saw Roland help her into the car, she looked back at the building before slipping into the backseat. She was so far away he couldn't make out her expression. He was just glad that the fiasco was over with.

Whatever was in the card wouldn't get into the KaibaCorp servers this way, this computer was completely blank and not connected. There was no hesitance as he loaded it into the old motherboard. He clicked through, listening to the audio files and a few documents.

His eyes widened, he wasn't sure what to think.


End file.
